Salary cap is 123m (max they can spend)
Salary floor is 107m (minimum they must spend)

I keep hearing the number of 43m in cap room that the colts have. So that implies that they have 80m on the salary for next year. So that means they must spend 27m more than they presently are scheduled to pay. And can go up to 43m.

I have heard anywhere from 40 to 50 million in cap space. I would expect interest in free agents at the following positions:

OT
OG
WR
DE
CB
S

That of course doesn't mean we will sign new starters at all of those positions. And not all the money will go to free agents. Some goes to rookies, some to players whose contacts need extensions. And some may get carried over to next year if they just don't find the right long-term guys.

At C, the replacement is already on the roster and should be obvious: Shipley. He's just better. He's stronger, he's meaner, he snaps the ball better. He is better in pass protection and run blocking. He doesn't screw up his assignments like Satele. I am really disappointed in this coaching staff for going back to Satele. That was a Polian-era move.

Reitz is a good player and I hope he is re-signed. But he needs to be a backup. He can't stay healthy, so we can't rely on him as a starter.

McGlynn is a pathetic sack of crap and should be cut immediately. No starting, no backup duty, just cut him.

Justice is a fine RT, but like Reitz, he can't play a full season. Can't trust him to be anything more than depth. I'd like to re-sign him to be a depth player but I doubt he'd be willing.

I am hoping to snag Andy Levitre and one of the many OTs potentially available in free agency in the offseason. Use that cap money to improve the OL. I'm also hoping for Larry Warford in the 3rd. But I doubt he will be available.

I'd like to target Dwayne Bowe or Greg Jennings in free agency. Someone to replace Avery and be the #1 once Wayne retires or just slows down. It's not critical but it'd be nice. Beyond that and OL, the offense seems set to me.

On defense, well, there's good and bad. ILB is set, easily. I'd say NT is too. CB is probably a need but it isn't as strong as the others I'm about to discuss. If the front 7 improves guys like Vaughn and Butler look a lot better.

DE needs at least one starting-caliber talent in there to work with Redding and Moala. I'd love to pick up Randy Starks in free agency. I don't think we're getting much help in the draft at that position. We have fine depth but Moala is a middling starter and Redding can't be counted to play a full season.

At OLB, we of course have many options in the draft. But the good ones might be gone before we can get one. After watching this game and researching a bit more about how he ended the season, I would not mind signing Paul Kruger if he is available. He has apparently developed into a much better player than I ever expected. If we got him and drafted a developmental guy in the middle rounds (and/or got a similar talent in free agency) I think we'd be fine there. Definitely need a more effective starter than Freeney, though. Our pass rush has been pretty bad at times this year. Very inconsistent.

Safety is a nightmare. We all know Zbikowski needs to be replaced (why in the hell did he start today???). Lefeged isn't the answer but he is significantly better than Z. Z should be cut. He does nothing well.

But Bethea has been a continual disappointment all year. He's had flashes of the old player we used to know. But he looks so slow. He tackles very poorly and looks weak doing it. He's blown his coverage assignment multiple times this year and it happened again today. And all year he just cannot make a play on the ball. He drops sure INTs and allows catches when he has the chance to bat the ball away. He doesn't seem like the same guy at all. After today I am comfortable saying we should not re-sign him when his contract is up unless he significantly improves next year. We need a new starting SS and probably some depth. But FS is not locked down like I thought it was. There are good S prospects in this draft and some guys like William Moore and LaRon Landry are potentially available in free agency.

At corner, the first order of business is to lock Davis up for the next 5 years. Pagano will make him a star. Vaughn and Butler are great depth but middling starters. There are quite a few good CB options potentially available in free agency, I'd be shocked if the Colts didn't take a shot there somewhere. I just don't think we can afford to burn a high pick on a CB prospect.

I'd also advocate for a new kicker. AV costs too much and can't consistently hit kicks in the 40 yard range for some reason. It's not high on the priority list but there's no reason to pay the guy $3 million a year.

I actually think the front 7 did a decent job in the playoff game. I think it was the secondary that made us look like idiots. Against Joe Flacco... Darius Butler and Cassius Vaughn don't turn back for the ball, Bethea isn't as physical as he once was and has lost a step, and Z is just worthless. I think we have 3 spots to fill in the secondary. The thing about potentially drafting Xavier Rhodes is he is so physical. He brings the attitude we need. He could play safety or corner imo.

The OL I agree with you on. Satele sucks and McGlynn is terrible. We have some quality guys, but they don't stay healthy (like you said killswitch). I have Castonzo/?/Shipley/?/? That is how bad our OL of the future looks. I'm not even really sold on Shipley long term. We will see.

I just want to give a salute to Luck. I can't believe he brought a team with so many holes to the playoffs. So glad he is a Colt. Also, Hilton is a boss.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by killxswitch

Bill Polian is cancer wrapped in AIDS delivered in an XXL enema so please don't expect me to disagree with you.

Good news! Wisconsin C/G Travis Frederick has declared for the 2013 draft. This increases our chances of getting a good interior OLman for sure. I am a Frederick fan. He's huge but plays with good technique and is supposedly pretty smart. I do like Shipley at C but I'm sure Frederick could start at guard (he played there plenty at Wisconsin) and move to center if it made sense.

This is what falloutboy14 and I have come out with in the forum mock so far. I think we have done well condidering the curve balls thrown at us. Both Long and Winters are steals. Just a little disappointed we missed out on premiere pass rushers. I'll post the complete list when we are done.

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Sig by BoneKrusher

Quote:

Originally Posted by killxswitch

Bill Polian is cancer wrapped in AIDS delivered in an XXL enema so please don't expect me to disagree with you.

As for Geo, no idea. He was a good poster, I miss him. Weird how he just dropped off without a single word.

Long in the 2nd would indeed be a steal. Don't know much about Winters. That draft would look a lot better to me if I knew we signed an OLB like Anthony Spencer, Paul Kruger, Shaun Phillips, or Michael Johnson.

As for Geo, no idea. He was a good poster, I miss him. Weird how he just dropped off without a single word.

Long in the 2nd would indeed be a steal. Don't know much about Winters. That draft would look a lot better to me if I knew we signed an OLB like Anthony Spencer, Paul Kruger, Shaun Phillips, or Michael Johnson.

Definitely agree about signing a SLB. It is hard to draft without the FA process. All we did was decide who we were signing back and letting walk. Falloutboy14 was the one who made the OL board so he probably knows more about Winters. He is respected around NFLDC though!